The Browns are unfortunately known for making mistakes in the NFL draft. While most of the criticism has come in recent years, there have been many bungled draft classes throughout the team's 71 years of existence. This article explores the worst draft classes in Cleveland's history.
What Are the Worst Draft Classes in the History of the Browns?
Unfortunately for Browns fans, the reality is that their team is known for making bad decisions during the NFL draft. And while every team makes a mistake from time to time, the Browns have a history of making numerous mistakes in the same draft. Even a single wasted draft class can have a profoundly negative consequence on a team's future, so when those miscues happen multiple times in a decade, it can be difficult to catch up.
Luckily, the Browns haven't been so futile that they'll never be competitive again—even though it may feel that way since Cleveland hasn't had a winning season since 2007. The current dry spell is, by far, the longest in franchise history, but that has more to do with poor stability among executives and coaches than anything else. In the 12 years since '08, there have been:
- 7 changes at general manager
- 8 changes at head coach
With each change comes a different philosophy, so it's been impossible for the Browns to create any meaningful consistency in the way they approach the draft. But as you'll soon see, poor drafting isn't new for the Browns—their first back-to-back blunders came more than 60 years ago.
Selection Criteria for This List
In creating this list of the 10 worst draft classes in Cleveland's history, as well as a handful of (dis)honorable-mention selections, I looked for the following criteria:
- Longevity (How many of a certain year's picks never appeared for the Browns or had short careers in Cleveland?)
- Early-round failure (How many early-round selections failed to become regular contributors?)
- On-field success (How much success did the overall class have on the field with the Browns?)
For the purpose of this list, only a player's time spent in Cleveland is considered when determining the success or failure of a particular draft class. So while the Browns did not select a superstar in the 2011 NFL Draft and had a busted first-round pick in Phil Taylor, a handful of later-round selections become solid players on the team for several seasons. Therefore, you won't read about that year on this list. The tables featured throughout this article display the individual picks in each draft class, show the final year a player played with the Browns, and only includes games played with Cleveland.
10. Class of 2012
Cleveland owned 13 selections in the 2012 NFL Draft—including five of the first 100 selections for the second time in three drafts. After the Browns averaged a paltry 13.6 points per game during the '11 season, the plan was to use their pair of first-round draft picks on some new offensive weapons for the '12 season. Cleveland did select two new offensive players—running back Trent Richardson (No. 3) and quarterback Brandon Weeden (No. 22)—but they both failed to build a lasting legacy.
Luckily, the Browns had three more picks in the top 100 selections, so there was some wiggle room to make a mistake or two. Unfortunately, none of the next three players selected would stay with the Browns past the '16 season. The trio of right tackle Mitchell Schwartz (No. 37), defensive tackle John Hughes (No. 87) and wide receiver Travis Benjamin (No. 100) were by far the top players picked by the Browns in '12, but none were considered superstars.
After making some trades throughout the draft, the Browns ended up selecting 11 players, who played an average of just over two seasons with Cleveland and combined to play 284 games for the franchise. Schwartz, Hughes and Benjamin accounted for 171 of those games (60.2%).
Browns 2012 Draft Picks
9. Class of 1995
The Browns went into the '95 NFL Draft not realizing the franchise would change cities after the season, so they went in looking to keep the team chugging in a positive direction. Instead, everything about the draft turned into a disaster.
About a month prior to the draft, the Browns traded Eric Metcalf to the Falcons, and part of the trade involved swapping first-round draft picks—leaving the Browns to pick at No. 10 instead of No. 26. On draft day, the three players Cleveland most desired were all selected within the first nine picks, leaving the Browns to scramble to make a decision about how to handle their No. 10 selection. In a frantic scene, the Browns made a hasty trade with the 49ers to take over the 30th selection and a couple of picks later in the draft. Cleveland would spend the No. 30 pick on linebacker Craig Powell, who would play just three games for the Browns.
In the third round, Cleveland drafted quarterback Eric Zeier, who the Browns believed would be able to overcome his small stature—he stood just six feet tall but was a prolific passer at UGA. The NFL, however, wouldn't be so kind, as he never became an established starter or reliable backup. Defensive end Mike Frederick was selected later on in the third round and was the only one of the six players Cleveland drafted to play the entire '95 season.
Browns 1995 Draft Picks
8. Class of 1987
The Browns went into the '87 NFL Draft with 10 total draft picks, including the 24th selection. They finished the draft with eight new players and one less All-Pro. In a stunning draft-day trade, the Browns sent four-time All-Pro linebacker Chip Banks to the Chargers and used the No. 5 pick they received in exchange to select Mike Junkin, a powerful inside linebacker from Duke. The swap was thought to have solved two problems for Cleveland:
- being rid of the troublesome Banks, who had staged multiple contract holdouts and wasn't well-liked by teammates and coaches, and
- bringing in Junkin to replace Banks as the team's primary outside pass-rusher.
The experiment imploded spectacularly. Junkin became one of the worst draft picks the Browns have ever made after playing just 15 games over two seasons.
Cleveland drafted a few players who would be reliable players for a handful of seasons, but none stayed with the Browns for more than five years. Not only that, the franchise failed to address pre-draft needs for a wide receiver and a tight end. On average, those drafted in '87 stayed with Cleveland for 2.1 seasons and played 27.9 games. Two players from the draft class never appeared in an NFL game.
The best player the Browns selected that year? That would be center Frank Winters, who was taken with the 276th pick. Cleveland made Winters an unrestricted free agent following the 1988 season, even though he had played in 28 games. He'd eventually land in Green Bay, where he became a Pro Bowler and won a Super Bowl.
Cleveland 1987 Draft Picks
7. Class of 1954
The NFL draft was a much different product in the 1950s, as only 12 teams picked for 30 rounds. Also in that era, a lottery was held for the "bonus pick," which was the first pick of the draft. In '54, Cleveland won that lottery and unsurprisingly selected Stanford quarterback Robert "Bobby" Garrett, who was the consensus top prospect available in the draft. It was believed he was a potential replacement for Hall of Famer Otto Graham, who was nearing retirement age, and that he could also be used as the centerpiece of a trade. After learning Garrett had a speech impediment, Cleveland traded him to Green Bay, but Cleveland did not get any positive production from either player they received in return—essentially wasting their pick.
And that was just the start of the disappointing draft.
In total, only five players appeared in a game with the Browns, and among them, only three made it more than one season. Included were running backs Chet Hanulak and Maurice Bassett—neither of whom gained more than 1,000 career yards on the ground—and right guard Jim Ray Smith. He was the lone prize of the draft, as he remained with the Browns until 1962 and is remembered as one of the top offensive linemen in franchise history.
If there ever was a year to have a bad draft, however, '54 was a good choice, as only one Hall of Famer was selected among the 360 players. Still, to have every pick after the 10th round fail to even appear in a game is not the way to continue a dynasty. The Browns would actually suffer the first losing season in franchise history in 1956.
Cleveland 1954 Draft Picks
6. Class of 1974
After just one season, it was clear that the players selected by Cleveland toward the top of the 1973 NFL Draft were not going to be the superstar players they were expected to be (more on that later). As the last wave of the team's superstars were fading, the '74 draft was doubly important. To further complicate matters, the Browns didn't have a pick until the middle of the second round, so they would have to depend on finding players that had been overlooked by the league's other teams. Unfortunately, they made good on only one of their 15 selections.
In the seventh round, the Browns selected offensive tackle Gerry Sullivan, who would stay with Cleveland as a regular until '81 and was the only salvageable piece from the entire draft class. Sullivan played 119 games with the Browns, witnessing significant ups and downs (including a 7–21 mark over his first two seasons, but also a playoff appearance in 1980).
Five other players from the draft class played between 12 and 16 games with the Browns, but none were with the team past the 1975 season.
Cleveland 1974 Draft Picks
5. Class of 2013
In 2012, Cleveland used 11 draft picks to build a base they thought would be the start of a rebuild that would get them back to the playoffs for the first time since '02. One year later, the Browns had a limited supply of picks to add to that staple. First-year general manager Michael Lombardi was saddled with those circumstances and then missed the mark on everybody he drafted, which contributed to his ouster after just one season.
Cleveland's second-round pick for the draft was surrendered to select Josh Gordon in the '12 supplemental draft (he became a Pro Bowler but also faced multiple suspensions for off-the-field issues). The Browns also lost a fourth-round pick in a trade for wide receiver Davone Bess. It's been argued that Cleveland should have traded away their first-round pick in order to stockpile extra picks later in the draft, but they instead made the surprising selection of linebacker Barkevious Mingo. It's not that Mingo was a bad player, but the team and fans expected more out of the No. 6 pick than seven sacks and one interception in three seasons.
Cleveland didn't select again until the third round. Then, the Browns grabbed a sixth-rounder and two seventh-rounders. Those four players combined for 53 games over six total seasons, with only defensive end Armonty Bryant staying with the Browns past his rookie season.
Cleveland 2013 Draft Picks
4. Class of 1992
Although Cleveland collapsed to a three-win season in 1990, they were building the franchise back up quickly, and the '92 NFL Draft was a chance to address a wide swath of needs. Cleveland made a trade the day prior to the draft, which allowed the Browns to stake claim to four of the first 78 selections, and they'd end up with 12 picks throughout the entire draft. The Browns owned the No. 9 pick, but instead of drafting a player to fill a true need, they selected Stanford fullback Tommy Vardell, who made for a fifth viable option in the team's rushing attack.
It didn't get much better from there. Vardell was out of Cleveland by 1995 after 40 games, and their second-round pick, wide receiver Patrick Rowe, played just five games with the Browns. Cleveland's duo of third-round picks were the prizes of the draft, but neither were with the Browns when the franchise was suddenly moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season. Defensive lineman Bill Johnson (No. 65) and linebacker Gerald Dixon (No. 78) each continued on to have successful NFL careers, but their short tenures didn't leave much of a legacy in Cleveland. Even Johnson posed a risk as a third-rounder—he was injured during a fight in the weeks leading up to the draft and lost his luster as a projected first-round pick.
Half of the draft class would never appear in a game for the Browns, and of the 12 players selected, they averaged just 1.6 seasons and 14 games for Cleveland. And what production the Browns were able to squeeze out of Vardell, Johnson and Dixon was minuscule. Vardell was nicknamed "Touchdown Tommy," but he was anything but that in Cleveland, contributing just five touchdowns over his 40 games. Johnson, meanwhile, averaged a sack every four games, and Dixon had one sack and two interceptions during his three seasons.
Cleveland 1992 Draft Picks
3. Class of 2014
What turned out to be one of the worst first rounds in team history was only the start of a disappointing draft class that could have started the Browns on the path to success. Instead, it turned into the third straight poor showing by the Browns and again set the team back several years. The Browns came into the draft with seven of the first 127 picks—an envious slate that also included two first-rounders—but by the end of the draft, Cleveland had selected just six total players and found just one Pro Bowler.
The draft was the first under general manager Ray Farmer and also included input from a rookie head coach, Mike Pettine. Together, they were tasked with turning around a franchise that hadn't experienced a winning season since 2007, but instead, they botched the entire first round by selecting cornerback Justin Gilbert (No. 6) and quarterback Johnny Manziel (No. 22). Both are widely considered among the worst picks the Browns have ever made, as they each played just 15 games over two seasons.
In the second round, the Browns selected offensive lineman Joel Bitonio—who remains with Cleveland and has made a pair of Pro Bowls. The first pick in the third round was linebacker Christian Kirksey, who had a solid five-year tenure. After that, however, were forgettable running back Terrance West and defensive back Pierre Desir. West played 14 games with the Browns as a rookie, and Desir was gone after two seasons and 19 games.
The failure of the class was a major contributing factor in another full-scale regime change for the 2016 season. Two additional changes have occurred at general manager since then.
Cleveland 2014 Draft Picks
2. Class of 1955
After striking out with an unsuccessful draft in 1954, the ramification of an even worse draft class by the Browns in '55 would be felt sooner than later. The Browns suffered their first losing season in franchise history in 1956, but after pulling off an all-time great draft class in '57, they were back to their winning ways. So even though the pain was short-lived, the '55 draft class was such a disaster that it can't be ignored.
Cleveland picked 31 players in the draft, but only seven ever appeared in a game for the Browns. Worse still, the most games any of them played for Cleveland was 23, and none of the first three selections by Cleveland ever suited up for the team.
The leading player from the class was defensive back Robert "Bobby" Freeman, who was taken in the third round and had three interceptions in each of his two seasons. He went on to play four more seasons with three other teams. Sixth-round pick and halfback LeRoy Bolden played in 23 games for Cleveland after three years in the military but didn't do much ball carrying. He only had 19 attempts for 66 yards in his short-lived career, though he did add 532 yards in the return game—including a 102-yard touchdown. Linebacker Sam Palumbo was taken in the fourth round and is defined by a single play. In the 1955 NFL Championship game, Palumbo snared an interception in Cleveland's victory over Los Angeles.
Cleveland 1955 Draft Picks
1. Class of 1973
One of the most significant turning points in Browns' draft history occurred in '73.
"This could be our most important draft since 1961," said Art Modell, who purchased the Browns in '61. "Competition has stiffened in pro football and we haven't been blessed with great early selections in recent years . . . It doesn't take a lot for a ball club to go from good to great. I feel that we had a good squad at the end of 1972, a better one than at the finish of the previous two years. I want to have a great Browns team. With this draft, I believe there is a chance to do this in 1973." (Heaton, 1973)
The Browns owned three of the first 30 picks and had seven of the first 100 selections, putting them in a prime position to bolster the roster and continue the deeply rooted winning ways of the franchise. At that point, the Browns had just one losing season in 27 seasons, but after misfiring on all but one of their first seven picks in '73, it hurt the team's progress for the rest of the '70s.
Only second-round pick Greg Pruitt became a star, earning four Pro Bowl selections as a standout running back. Meanwhile, the team's first-round selections—receiver Steve Holden (No. 16) and offensive lineman Pete Adams (No. 22)—fizzled out as below-average players by '76. Among the other four players picked in the top 100, only defensive back Jim Steinke (No. 47) ever saw action for the Browns—a measly seven games as a rookie. Overall, half of the draft class never appeared in a game for Cleveland.
Cleveland 1973 Draft Picks
Honorable Mentions
The Browns have an unfortunate history of poor drafting. The following are additional draft classes that didn't produce much talent but fell just outside of the 10 worst in history.
Class of 1968
The Browns had one of their best drafts of all time in 1967 but were unable to repeat the magic in '68. They made a pair of good picks in linebacker John Garlington (No. 47) and running back Reece Morrison (No. 66) but otherwise didn't find much talent. Cleveland's first-round selection, defensive end Marvin Upshaw, was gone after two seasons, and 12 of the 20 players drafted never appeared in a game. Among the other five who did make the roster, none lasted more than two seasons in Cleveland.
Class of 2008
Because of several pre-draft trades, the first draft pick for the Browns in '08 didn't come until the fourth round. With that 104th pick, the Browns landed coveted linebacker Beau Bell, but he lasted just five games in the NFL. That was an error the Browns could ill afford given their lack of picks (only five in the entire draft). Cleveland did find a gem in the sixth round with defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin (99 games with the Browns), but the other four players were all whiffs.
Class of 1980
The Browns drafted a pair of solid NFL players in 1980—they just didn't make their mark in Cleveland. First-round pick Charles White had his best seasons after leaving the Browns, and third-round pick Cliff Odom would stay in the NFL until '93 but only played in Cleveland as a rookie. More than half of Cleveland's picks that year either played a single season or never appeared in an NFL game.
Future Browns Draft Classes
For all of the failures featured here, Cleveland can't be completely discounted. Throughout franchise history, there have been numerous draft classes full of talent—including multiple years that the Browns drafted more than one Hall of Famer.
Works Cited
Heaton, C. "'Most Important Draft'—Modell." Cleveland Plain-Dealer. pp. C1. Retrieved from Newsbank via Cleveland Public Library on March 25, 2020.